Manchester City have cultivated a stupendous start to their Premier League campaign this season, having collected 13 points from their first five league outings and as a result, they are placed at the topmost position in the league table. The Citizens will now make a trip to the Hawthorns to lock horns against their fellow top division side West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday to make further progress in the League Cup.
Pep Guardiola’s side have a lot of depth in their squad and have the requisite qualities as well and here is how we expect Manchester City to field a 4-5-1 line-up against the Throstles.
Defence
Vincent Kompany is out with a calf injury, so the central defence should see the duo of John Stones and Eliaquim Mangala being stationed. While Stones is a stupendous package and has proved his value ever since making a move to the blue half of Manchester City last summer, Mangala is yet to showcase his mettle and if handed a start against the Baggies, it would an excellent opportunity for him to impress Guardiola.
At the right-back position, Kyle Walker is likely to be rested and this implies that summer signing Danilo is anticipated to start. To complete the defensive wall of four men, Benjamin Mendy is expected to be engineered at the left-back slot and it goes without saying that Danilo and Mendy would have to knit a fine balance between their offensive and defensive endeavours. Claudio Bravo should be getting the nod for the custodian’s position.
Midfield
The deepest central midfielder should be Yaya Toure. Toure has fallen considerably in the pecking order, but the Ivory Coast international is likely to be vested a start to shield the backline and to also carve some goal scoring opportunities. From the left-wing, Leroy Sane might feature whereas on the right-wing, we expect Bernardo Silva to get a game under his belt.
Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden are likely to be teed up to fill the central midfield role. While the former is a world-class package, the latter had a stupendous pre-season with his employers and taking into considering that their next outing is a cup tie, he should be handed a start to further develop himself by accumulating much needed game time under his belt.
Attack
To spearhead Manchester City’s attack, Gabriel Jesus has a high probability to start. He has the calibre of smashing goals left right and centre and Guardiola’s outfit would appear to be a nightmarish side with the Brazilian striker leading them up front.
Here is how they might line up:
